Two-Year Follow-Up of a Randomized Clinical Trial of Inpatient Multimodal Occupational Rehabilitation Vs Outpatient Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Sick Listed Workers with Musculoskeletal or Common Mental Disorders.

Only about 8% of invited individuals accepted participation, which limits the generalizability of the findings to the broader population of sick-listed workers. The study was conducted in Norway, and differences in legislation and social security systems may limit applicability to other countries. Researchers were not blinded to group allocation, though sickness absence data were provided by unaware employees. There was no usual care control group, so it is unclear if either intervention was better than no intervention. The study design cannot identify which specific components of the inpatient program drove the observed effects.

The study was funded by Norges Forskningsråd, Helse Midt-Norge, and NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology. No specific commercial conflicts of interest were declared.

Do not conclude that the inpatient program significantly reduced total sick leave days compared to outpatient therapy, as this primary difference did not reach statistical significance. The benefits were seen in the speed and rate of return to work, not necessarily in the total volume of days off.